Chapter 2: First Day as Friends
Disclaimer: I only own Daniel, Alex, Ethan, Becca, and Catherine. I own nothing else. The addresses used in this fanfic were randomly generated. Warning: Transgender Character. Chapter 2: First Day as Friends It was the second day of school. After dropping off his brother at the elementary school, Alex went to the middle school. He was hanging out at the front doors, to see if Becca, Daniel, or Catherine would show up. Daniel was not outside, Becca showed up a few minutes later, and Catherine showed up just as Becca and Alex were going into the school. “So, how was your night?” Catherine asked them. “Uneventful,” Becca answered. “Well, Ethan spent dinner trying to convince Mom and Dad let him collect bugs, and it was rather entertaining,” Alex remembered. “How old is your brother?” Becca asked. “He’s ten. It’s somewhat entertaining whenever he asks for something,” Alex said. “He’s a kid, but he’s not a little kid. It’s weird but entertaining.” “I wish I had a little brother like that,” Becca wished. “Really? Maybe you can have him!” Alex joked. “I’m fine being an only child,” Catherine decided. The trio got to Catherine’s locker. She unlocked it and got out her binder for the morning. “Where’s-” she checked her schedule. “Room 210?” the girls looked to Alex. “Upstairs. If you go to the….right from here and go up the first staircase you see, you’ll get there quicker,” Alex told Catherine. Only Becca and Alex were left in the hallway. They were on their way to Becca’s locker, and Alex asked where Becca’s first class was. “Room…219,” she read. “Oh-it’s quicker to go to the first staircase on the left from here and then go past the cafeteria, and it’ll be on your right a little after,” Alex instructed. “Thanks!” Becca took her stuff and went upstairs. Alex went to his locker alone. He opened his locker, and then someone came up behind him. “Hey, Alexandra,” a male voice said in a snarky tone. Alex didn’t say or do anything. “Hey! Aren’t you going to say ‘hi’?” the boy asked. “Hi, Freddy,” Alex sighed and took out a black binder with a yellow pencil case. “What happened to that Pinky Pie pencil case you had last year?” Freddy asked. “That wasn’t last year. It was in grade two. Oh, that was last year. For you,” Alex countered. “What was that?” Freddy asked. “You think just because you’re a girl I won’t pound you?” the bully asked. “I’m not a girl,” Alex sighed. Well, Alex didn’t identify as a girl, so Freddy could punch him, and he could punch back. “Then you won’t mind when I do this?” he punched Alex in his (admittedly tiny) boob. Alex flinched. “No,” he looked and saw the teacher in the hallway. “I don’t mind,” he said as Freddy punched him again, in the same place. The teacher saw when Freddy did it this time, and came over and began scolding him for “punching a girl”. Alex quickly got his stuff, locked his locker, and went to his first class, in Room 221. Classes were uneventful; nobody called Alex by his full first name in class. Not even any of the teachers. Good. One of the bad parts of his name was it was put on the attendance as Alexandra, so when teachers see it for the first time they say that during attendance and he says he wants to be called Alex. Luckily, that happened yesterday. When lunch came after three classes, Alex was relieved. He went to the cafeteria, and bought some onion rings and got a coke. The joys of having a good menu in a middle school cafeteria. He found a spot alone, and sat down. Daniel came by. “Hey-can I sit here?” he asked Alex. “Hey. You can,” Alex replied. “Can I sit here?” the guys saw Catherine. “Sure,” they said. She sat down happily, as if she was nervous they were going to say no. There was one seat left at the table. Catherine put her backpack on the final chair, to save the seat for Becca. As Becca walked through the cafeteria with her fries and coke, she looked for a place to sit. Catherine waved to her, and moved her backpack off the chair she had saved. Becca smiled and walked over to the chair. Just before Becca could sit down, Freddy came by and sat down in the empty chair. Becca stopped and kept holding her tray, not sure what to do. Freddy looked at Becca. “What, you aren’t going to give me my food?” he asked her. Becca was clearly nervous. “Who said it’s your food?” Daniel spoke up. “Me,” Freddy said like it was obvious. “Why don’t you have your own lunch? Your parents too poor to buy you one?” Daniel insulted the older boy. “Wait,” Alex said before they could start fighting. “What, Alexandra?” Freddy asked impatiently. “Don’t you always bully me?” Alex asked, ignoring everyone else’s looks when Freddy called him Alexandra. “Yeah, and I would’ve bullied your friends in the past, but before today, you never had any,” Freddy said. “Said the bully who doesn’t have any friends OR food,” Catherine said. “No, he’s the bully who has no friends, or food, OR money,” Becca corrected Catherine. The bully snatched Becca’s fries and held it far from her reach. “Now who has no food?” he asked. “Look, Freddy, you got what you wanted, now shut up and leave,” Alex said. “Fine. See you later, Alexandra,” and he got up and left. Becca sat down and put her backpack down. Once he left, Daniel asked the first question. “Why does he call you Alexandra?” Alex sighed. “I was born a girl and he knew me in elementary school…it’s…ugh,” Alex replied. “Now he just calls me that to be mean. You guys can’t call me Alexandra either,” Alex explained. “You’re…transgender then? Becca figured out. “Yeah. He knew me before that, so he calls me a girl and calls me by my full first name. Though he got in trouble for punching me in my boob earlier, so…it works out. Kind of,” he remembered. “It hurts to get punched in the-wait why did he punch you?” Catherine asked. “Well this morning I told him I’m not a girl, and he asked if I would mind if he punched me, I said no, and he did. Though a teacher saw, so he got in trouble for ‘punching a girl’. I left then,” Alex informed them. “Anyways,” Becca changed the subject. “Now what do I do? I don’t have any more money for food,” she sighed. Alex placed his onion rings between him and Becca. “We can share if you want,” he offered, unaware of the crush Becca seemed to have on him. “Thanks!” she said happily. Lunch passed without any more problems. Alex helped the others find the school for fourth period, since he knows the school from last year. After school, before dinner, the kids all went to the park. Catherine brought some stuffed animals again. “Why do you bring those to the park?” Daniel asked. “So I can film them,” she said as she placed a stuffed dog of a cocker spaniel and put them on the top of the slide. “Ethan, can you help me?” Catherine asked the younger kid. He nodded. “Get on the play structure and get behind Lady,” Catherine instructed. The others just assumed Lady was the dog’s name. “Okay, when I say Action, just push her down,” the girl got out her video camera and pointed it and angled it so you would see the stuffed dog, but not Ethan’s hand. “Action!” Catherine said and Ethan pushed down Lady. “Cut! Great shot,” she went and watched it back. “What’d you film it for?” Daniel was curious. “My cousin from Briarwood edits them into a music video,” Catherine explained. “I just need to tell her where everything goes.” “That sounds kind of cool. Do you have a YouTube Channel?” Alex asked. “Yeah. I upload stuff sometimes,” Catherine said. “Aren’t you too young to have a Channel?” “Well, lying by two years isn’t that bad, is it?” Catherine answered Becca’s question with a question. Ethan slid down the slide the others were hanging out by, landing at the bottom, giggly for no reason. “What’s so funny?” Daniel asked the kid. “I don’t know,” he answered. “Want to play Grounders?” Alex asked his brother. “If you guys don’t mind,” he added for the others. “Sure,” the others agreed. “What are friends for?” Becca asked. Category:Preteens With Attitutde